Title: Influence of dry plunge-milling conditions on surface integrity of magnesium alloys

Authors: Isabelle Danis; Nathalie Wojtowicz; Frédéric Monies; Pierre Lagarrigue

Addresses: Institut Clément Ader (ICA), Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, Toulouse cedex 9, France ' Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE), Institut Clément Ader (ICA), 10 avenue E. Belin, BP 54032, 31055, Toulouse, France ' Institut Clément Ader (ICA), Université Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, Toulouse cedex 9, France ' Institut Clément Ader (ICA), Centre Universitaire Jean-François Champollion (JFC), Place Verdun, Albi, France

Abstract: Plunge milling is a machining process used to remove material rapidly in roughing operations. It is known to offer significant increases in productivity as compared with conventional milling, especially in the case of deep milled workpieces. However, this improvement of productivity also entails the increase in machining conditions so it could be harmful to surface integrity. In this study the authors consider the case of a dry plunge milling process applied to two wrought Mg-Zr-Zn-RE alloys and one cast Mg-Zr-Zn-RE alloy with two different types of inserts. First, the study involves obtaining surfaces through experimental designs. Second, plunge milling conditions are correlated with surface integrity factors, such as roughness, microstructure and microhardness. This study suggests plunge milling conditions to offer a trade-off between surface integrity and chip flow.

Keywords: plunge milling; dry machining; magnesium alloys; surface integrity; Elektron 21; MRI301F; surface roughness; surface quality; microstructure; microhardness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMS.2014.064750

International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems, 2014 Vol.7 No.2/3, pp.141 - 156

Received: 06 Nov 2013
Accepted: 01 May 2014
Published online: 21 Oct 2014 *

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